First time doing 9 miles!!!!

Did 9 miles last Saturday for the first time ever!  Couldn't help but feel a little badass for surviving a distance I didn't think I could do when I started running that morning.  At Mile 2, I stopped to walk so I can drink some water and paused my Garmin.  I didn't hydrate as well as I should have and was totally feeling it at Mile 2.  Well, I must have gotten distracted because about half a mile later, I realized I forgot to un-pause the Garmin!  ACK!  I did not want to run more than I needed to that day (it was hot), but I wanted my Garmin to record the 9 miles I was about to do, regardless. 

Has that ever happened to you? 

So I pushed myself until I saw 9.03 miles on my Garmin and stopped, but knowing full well I did 9.53.  Regardless, it's the longest distance I've done so far, and I still felt badass at the end, but not without suffering.

My knees started to ache at Mile 3 and I walked and took water breaks at 4, 6, 7, and 8.  I wanted to be able to walk the next day and I'm glad I took those breaks because my knees felt better at the end.  I slowed down too and really just focused on finishing the distance.

What do you do about sore knees?  Does it ever go away with increasing distance?

After completing 9 miles, it occurred to me that my next run could be a 10-miler and after that, I am technically ready and trained for a half marathon!!  WOW.  I never thought I'd get this far!  With Ragnar in late September, I still have time, so I'm going to work my way up as gradually and as safely as I can and hope my knees get used to the mileage.

Anyone else training for a race distance you haven't done yet?  How's the training going?